1. Patriots:

OFFENSE

* 59 points yikes
* I was wrong to question who would be better QB (although Luck had more yards)
* Gronk (who was a machine) scared the daylights out of the official with his first spike
* Julian Edelman’s best day not on Halloween

DEFENSE

* Please keep bringing pressure – the results are obvious – only one sack but forced turnovers and rushed passes
* Patriots give up another first drive TD
* Kyle Arrington has to be leading the NFL in penalty yards
* Patriots had an insane 11 passes deflected and two defensive touchdowns

MISC

* I was getting worried that the streak might be over but at the beginning of the 4th quarter Bob Kraft was shown
* I didn’t realize this was Gil Santos last year on the radio
* Not the best image for Tom Brady’s branding watching him snorting on national TV with his kid’s hat on
* At 6:20 eastern standard time – Vince Wilfork dove for a deflected pass cracking foundations all over New England
* Keep Hernandez out as long as you can – missed a lot of games over three years
* Patriots 448 yards / Colts 446

2. Yards After Catch:

* Brandon Lloyd is 37th in the NFL in receptions (42) but 118th in Yards After Catch with 99 yards
* Wes Welker has 393 YAC (2nd)
* Gronk has 234
* Danny Woodhead has 148 yards of YAC on 23 catches

3. Around College Football:

* Notre Dame has beaten four top 20 teams
* Amazing – the rain in the USC-UCLA game was the first inclement weather in that game since 1961
* Montee Ball of Wisconsin had a chance to set the NCAA record for touchdowns and extended the ball only to have it slapped away costing Wisconsin the Big Ten Legends title
* Notre Dame is going to turf next year – that seems wrong
* Former BC running back Montel Harris – 7 touchdowns/351 yards rushing Saturday for Temple
* Eight team playoff first round matchups – Notre Dame vs. Stanford / Alabama vs. LSU / Georgia vs. Kansas State / Florida vs. Oregon

6. All American’s on Patriots roster:

7. Amazing Stats:

The Patriots had four 50+ point scoring games in their first 21 years as a franchise / they have had five in the last ten years

8. Old School:

In Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals – in which the Celtics won 148-114 (lost the series in 6), Scott Wedman of the Celtics was 11-11 (4 for 4 from three point land) from the field but 0-2 from the free throw line

9. Just a Little Bit Outside:

Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade started in 1924

10. Randomocity:

* What’s wrong with sports – Melky Cabrera rewarded for taking the juice in his first six years, he made $12mm over the last two years and he will make $16mm in Toronto
* Watched the game at the Lodge in Randolph, which was a good set up with fireplaces and plenty of TV’s
* Frosty the Snowman is on this Friday – insane – it’s closer to Halloween than Christmas
* Stevan Ridley has the most first downs running the ball in the NFL – 54 in 172 carries
* Jeremy Lin is shooting 35% from the field so far

About Michael

Lifelong Boston resident who finds equal enjoyment in celebrating the local team's success as I do complaining about their failures. I have been writing the Top Ten for the last decade as well as five sports books: 26 Miles to Boston, Rebound, The President's Team, The Great Book of Boston Sports Lists and NBA List Jam.

Discussion

5 comments for “Connelly’s Top Ten: Brady and Gronk Better than Bad Luck”

Luck had more yards than Brady because the turnovers kept putting the Patriots closer to the endzone… or not even back on the field after a defensive TD! Tom and the offense are well rested for a short week

gronk injury is not a season ender, but it likely puts them in wild card weekend, not divisional round with a bye. jax couldn’t pull off the upset, hou still has no conference losses. den has the easiest schedule in the nfl to close.

This should be Gil Santos’ last year. I loved him when I was a kid, but he probably should have stepped away from the mic about 5-7-years ago.

He’s been blowing calls for a long time now. In the 2007 Super Bowl, he said Manning was sacked on the David Tyree catch. On 4th & 2 against Indy in 2009, he said the receiver was Wes Welker – it was Kevin Faulk. I like Zolak, so I occasionally turn on 98.5 while watching. It’s like watching a completely different game then what is on TV.

Gil still has a great voice, but I think he now has serious sight issues. I’m not saying that to be funny, but his calls are now ridiculously inaccurate